[Editor's Note: This Article was originally published on Jan. 24, 2019. It has since been updated]Investors are seemingly always on a quest for a portfolio they deem to be "well-balanced." Fortunately for investors seeking balance, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) make that objective significantly easier and, in many cases, less expensive than other instruments.Many of the best ETFs are inexpensive, highly liquid and span asset classes and regions, helping investors ameliorate the dreaded home country bias. Of course, what makes a well-balanced portfolio for one investor may not be properly balanced to another, but conventional wisdom does dictate that a mix of bonds and equities is a sensible starting point.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsFrom there, more aggressive investors can add in alternative asset classes, including commodities, something many of the best ETFs do in diversified fashion. * 10 Stocks to Buy That Could Be Takeover Targets In the search for balanced portfolios, here are some of the best ETFs to consider. ETFs to Buy: JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF (BBUS)Source: Shutterstock Expense Ratio: 0.02% per year, or $2 on a $10,000 investment.You may have recently heard that a pair of ETFs launched with expense ratios of 0%. The JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF (CBOE:BBUS) is not one of those funds, but of the ETFs with fees, the newly minted BBUS is the cheapest, charging a mere 0.02% per year.While BBUS is new (it debuted in late March), it is one of the best ETFs to act as a core building block for properly balanced portfolios. This fund holds over 620 stocks, providing investors with exposure to over 85% of the U.S. equity market. BBUS has over $30 million in assets under management, which is a decent start, but for investors that like big ETFs, expect BBUS's stature to soon increase as JPMorgan launches a robo-advisor platform. BBUS will be one of the cornerstones of that offering.BBUS allocates 21.5% of its weight to technology stocks while the healthcare and financial services sectors combine for 27.3% of the fund's roster. Investors that embrace this fund should expect long-term returns comparable to those generated by the S&P 500 or Russell 1000 indexes. iShares Core Total USD Bond Market ETF (IUSB)Expense Ratio: 0.06%As mentioned earlier, a well-diversified portfolio does not begin and end with stocks. It should include fixed-income exposure, too. The iShares Core Total USD Bond Market ETF (NASDAQ:IUSB) is one of the best ETFs for novice bond investors or those simply looking for broad-based, cost-efficient exposure to domestic bonds.The $3.57 billion IUSB, which tracks the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Index, is one of the best ETFs for bond investors seeking diversity and cost efficiencies. Home to nearly 7,900 bonds, IUSB is also one of the least expensive fixed income funds on the market today. * The 10 Best Stocks for 2019 -- So Far IUSB has a 30-day SEC yield of 2.9%, a 12-month yield of 3% and an effective duration of 5.22 years. Due to heavy exposure to U.S. Treasuries and other government agency debt, credit risk is minimal with this best ETF. Bonds with AAA ratings account for 61.54% of the portfolio. WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund (DGRW)Expense Ratio: 0.28%Sure, there are cheaper dividend funds on the market, but the WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund (NASDAQ:DGRW) is one of the best ETFs in this category. Dividends, particularly when reinvested, are vital to investors' long-term outcomes, making DGRW ideal for a broad swath of market participants, be they rookies, sophisticated players or retirement planners.There are dozens of dividend ETFs for investors to consider, but DGRW's fundamentally weighted methodology stands out from the pack. A case can even be made that is a dividend ETF Warren Buffett himself would enjoy."Return on equity (ROE) is a metric Buffett has written on extensively: it's a 'quality' indicator for stocks, reflecting how much profit a business earns relative to its net equity capital," according to WisdomTree research.DGRW's underlying index emphasizes "both ROE and return on assets (ROA) as part of the selection requirements. Using ROA as a screening criterion penalizes firms using leverage to drive ROE," notes the issuer.DGRW also pays a monthly dividend and is worth the cost of admission relative to its peer group. WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund (DES)Expense Ratio: 0.38%Like its stablemate DGRW, the WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund (NYSEARCA:DES) is one of the stars in its respective category. This is one of the best ETFs for income-hungry investors as well as those seeking exposure to smaller stocks because DES is historically less volatile than rival non-dividend small-cap funds."This portfolio targets dividend payers without incurring too much risk," said Morningstar in a recent note. "Although the fund doesn't screen its holdings for profitability or dividend sustainability, a few dividend cuts across its portfolio shouldn't significantly affect its performance because it is broadly diversified and skews toward larger, more-stable names in the small-value Morningstar Category."DES allocates nearly a third of its combined weight to industrial and consumer discretionary stocks while the real estate and financial services sectors combine for 26.3%. Plus, this has long been one of the best ETFs in the small-cap value space. * 6 Big Dividend Stocks to Buy as Yields Plunge "From its launch in June 2006 through April 2019, the strategy has topped the small-value category average and the Russell 2000 Value Index by 1.2 and 1.0 percentage points annually, respectively, with similar risk," according to Morningstar. "The fund's favorable stock exposure within the energy and consumer discretionary sectors contributed to most to its outperformance." Vanguard Total Corporate Bond ETF (VTC)Expense Ratio: 0.07%While it is important to remember that bonds are an important part of well-balanced portfolios, investors should also remember that they should be heavily allocated to U.S. government debt. That strategy limits credit opportunities and some of the potential added upside associated with corporate bonds.Put simply, the Vanguard Total Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ:VTC) is one of the best ETFs for investors seeking a massive bench of investment-grade corporate bonds across varying durations and maturities. VTC is classified as an intermediate-term bond fund, but it features exposure to short-, medium- and long-dated corporate debt with almost 6,000 holdings.VTC accomplishes those objectives in cost-effective fashion by holding Vanguard's three other corporate bond ETFs, which span the aforementioned maturity categories. Over 87% of VTC's holdings are rated A or Baa and it has an average duration of 6.9 years. Vanguard Total International Bond ETF (BNDX)Expense Ratio: 0.09%Keeping with the theme of using cheap bond ETFs to enhance portfolio diversity, there is the Vanguard Total International Bond ETF (NASDAQ:BNDX). BNDX is one of the best ETFs in the fixed income arena this year in terms of both performance and asset-gathering acumen.BNDX tracks the Barclays Global Aggregate ex-USD Float Adjusted RIC Capped Index and holds nearly 5,800 bonds with an average duration of 7.8 years. There are other benefits to owning international bonds beyond making a portfolio more diverse. * 7 Bank Stocks to Leave in the Vault A fund such as BNDX can help investors access potentially higher yields than are found on domestic government bonds, gain exposure to monetary policies that are not delivered by the Federal Reserve and the potential for higher returns. Over the past three years, BNDX has outperformed the Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond Index by nearly 200 basis points. iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA)Expense Ratio: 0.08%The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (CBOE:IEFA) is one of the best ETFs for investors looking to bring cost-effective international equity exposure to their portfolios. IEFA, one of the largest ex-U.S. equity funds in the world, reflects the valuation discounts associated with many ex-U.S. developed markets, including Europe."Europe offers attractive asset valuations compared to history, especially in risk assets," according to BlackRock. "Regional assets have cheapened further compared to a year ago as concerns about growth and politics increased. The exception to this are core government bonds, which we believe to be expensive compared to global peers."IEFA's largest country weight is Japan at 24.75%, but four of its top five geographic weights are European nations, positioning the fund to take advantage of a rebound in stocks across the pond."As downward revisions to growth start petering out and incoming activity data begin to show signs of life, European risk assets might get a boost this year as value equities benefit," according to BlackRock.As of this writing, Todd Shriber owned shares of DES and DGRW. More From InvestorPlace * 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) * The 4 FANG Stocks Won't Be Bitten By Regulation Threats * 10 Stocks to Buy That Could Be Takeover Targets * 4 Big Bank Stocks Rebounding Compare Brokers The post 7 Best ETFs for a Well-Balanced Portfolio appeared first on InvestorPlace.

The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) has been the go-to ETF when it comes to getting core bond exposure, but it’s certainly not the only option. When investors want a bit more yield in exchange for more credit risk, they can opt for funds like the iShares Core Total US Bond Market ETF (IUSB) . IUSB seeks to track the investment results of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Index.

As the stock market continues to take a beating, nervous investors look to bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for protection and sanity. After all, fixed income typically provides regular cash and lower volatility when markets hit turbulence.And the markets are absolutely hitting turbulence. For instance, between Feb. 19 and March 10, not only did the S&P; 500 experience a historically rapid loss of 14.8% - it experienced a dramatic rise in volatility, too, hitting its highest level on that front since 2011, says Jodie Gunzberg, chief investment strategist at New York-based Graystone Consulting, a Morgan Stanley business. The index's losses and volatility have escalated even more since then.Bonds offer ballast - "not only downside protection but also moderate upside potential as investors tend to seek out the safety of U.S. government and investment-grade corporate bonds amid stock market uncertainty" - says Todd Rosenbluth, senior director of ETF and mutual fund research at CFRA, a New York-based investment research company.Bond prices often are uncorrelated to equities. Stocks typically do well in periods of economic growth, whereas bonds typically do well in periods of declining economic activity, Gunzberg says."Even though the current 30-day correlation has risen between stocks and bonds, the correlation between the S&P; 500 and the S&P; U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is still negative," she says. "Bonds are strong diversifiers, with the exception of high yield (junk), when added to a portfolio of equities throughout different economic scenarios." Indeed, junk debt has been punished severely of late.Here are 12 bond mutual funds and bond ETFs to buy. These funds offer diversified portfolios of hundreds if not thousands of bonds, and most primarily rely on debt such as Treasuries and other investment-grade bonds. Just remember: This is an unprecedented environment, and even the bond market is acting unusually in some areas, so be especially mindful of your own risk tolerance. SEE ALSO: The 25 Best Low-Fee Mutual Funds to Buy in 2020

Popular destinations in the space include broad, cost-effective core concepts, such as the iShares Core Total USD Bond Market Index (IUSB) . IUSB seeks to track the investment results of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Universal Index. The fund generally will invest at least 90% of its assets in the component securities of the underlying index and may invest up to 10% of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, including shares of money market funds advised by BFA or its affiliates, as well as in securities not included in the underlying index, but which BFA believes will help the fund track the underlying index.